Farmers and investors will be looking on with interest today as the first rice crop to be grown in Western Australia in almost 30 years is harvested in the Kimberley.

Rice was abandoned in 1983 due to problems with native birds and difficulty in finding suitable varieties of rice for the Ord's climate.

New South Wales farmers, Laurie Arthur and Nick Lowing have brought rice back to the Ord and are confident of a good result with this first crop.

Rice is being seen as a possible crop for Ord Stage 2 and the Minister for Regional Development and Lands Brendon Grylls will be in Kununurra to have a closer look at the harvest.

Local farmer Torben Sass-Nielson worked on the Ord's rice farms when they were operating nearly 3 decades ago.

He says today's growers have a better chance of establishing a viable rice industry.

"I'd like to see some rice grown. A number of the things that were learnt then are being used now. But we really have to wait and see how they go with the birds, and what the yield really is. And of course viability also depends on what the pricing is and that sounds good at the moment."

The first rice crops will be processed in Kununurra and exported to Papua New Guinea.